Meeting Minutes – October 2015

Location Next Time: Could not get the library. We need another place. Rob can check to see if Slim’s space works. Lisa’s could be a backup.

350.org Meeting

David went in September. Good follow up rally and launch October 14th, which had significant union presence. Diverse crowd; 100 or 150 people. He demonstrated at the American Petroleum Institute and carried an anti-Exelon merger sign. A speaker at the end talked about this, too. The next step is in December.

Action Item: David will share this information via email.

Chicago World Safety and Lac-Megantic

Chicago September 19th conference, which Green Neighbors endorsed, went well. About 80 people participated, and that evening, about 30 had dinner. A supply chain org also participated. The supply chain is becoming more important to examine. A couple of different unions. The next day, another 25 participated in a several-hour-long tour of Chicago infrastructure. It was very interesting for the environmental groups.

The train disaster in Lac-Megantic that killed 47 people and wiped out the downtown came up at the event. The attorney for Harding, the engineer at the center of the derailment, attended the meeting. The groups at the meeting said they would hold a solidarity protest at the Canadian consul in Chicago and did. It was great to see an immediate impact.

Fritz was sent to the demonstration in Lac-Megantic. The town has mission fatigue, but almost 1,000 people turned out. One of the biggest cheers came when it was described the solidarity event in Chicago. They made a piece of art for each person killed.

Action Item: Fritz may write up a more detailed description for posting with photos.

Exelon Pepco Merger

Update was given…email for info! There are several ways for Green Neighbors to get involved.

GN Bank Account Report

Green Neighbors continues to have funding and looks forward to possibly participating in the Polar Bear Plunge to boost funds again.

Group Checks

There is support for purchasing checks, which will make it easier to reimburse members for expenditures. Catherine got a quote for checks, but Lindsay will check to see if we can order from a third party for less money.

Action Item: Lindsay will report back on check prices and options from third parties, if possible.

Book List

Upshur Books said they would like our environmental book list, so Catherine will send it to them. The list is also posted on our website if you know another book store that would like it.

McMillan Park

There is an October 26th hearing about a resolution proposed by the mayor to extend the time to sell McMillan Park. The Friends of McMillan took this as a victory because it gives them more time to fight. Thursday 10/22 is the last day to register, but it’s possible to go night-of, too. Here’s more information about testifying. Green Neighbors does not have a definitive position at this time (i.e., directly and completely supporting the Friends of McMillan position doesn’t seem to be a good option). We can encourage people to understand the issue and testify. Rob is going to sign up to submit testimony via email for Green Neighbors but likely cannot attend. If someone can attend, we can swap their name out. Either way, we need to come up with a statement.

Action Item: Draft acceptable statement on behalf of Green Neighbors.

Bee-Killing Pesticides

Harriet said she can attend a meeting about this. If we find out that Annie’s is in a tough position and must sell those products because it’s an Ace store. Lisa will do some more background digging so that we can go to meet with Annie. They are also opening a second store in Brookland soon. Need to suggest what alternatives could replace these harmful ones. The Xerces Society has more info: http://www.xerces.org/.

Action Item: Lisa will find more info so that we can meet with Annie.

Action Item: Meet with Annie. (volunteers?)

Event Series

We could think about a Quarterly Event series. One example would be if we show the “This Changes Everything” movie at the Petworth Library, it will cost us $500 for the license. Above Slim’s Diner, there is a new event space that they’re looking for more community groups for. Perhaps it could be a private “invite only” screening, which would not violate licensing rules?

Action Item: Rob will talk to the folks at Slim’s Diner to see about the space for this and other potential events.

Groundswell

The Fall group will be starting October 26th. They’ve decided not to have a pledge period but just sign people up once they have a winning bidder. It was decided that this is something that we should support again.